The summer months are at their peak, and as such, we need to make sure the kids are entertained and taking a break from their over-attachment to screens. This goes especially for these days with the pandemic curtailing many conventional summertime activities for families, such as camp. However, there are a number of outdoor activities that can help change things up and offer a wonderful way to be entertained. One good example of this is paddleboarding, an old-fashioned sport that continues to offer entertainment generation after generation.
Paddleboarding is an activity where the participant either swims and paddles while lying, kneeling, or more often than not, standing on a board. This is a great exercise that teaches coordination and helps to maintain a strong and svelte physique. If you’re wondering whether or not this is a sport your kids will enjoy and will take on as a new hobby, then read on for more information.
Improve Balance
Paddleboarding is not only fun but is an excellent exercise. While being low impact, it effectively combines balance, strength, and hones in on their endurance; standing on the board while paddling looks easier said than done. But, at the same time, it is not so difficult that it ends up being a burdensome torment that your kids will not enjoy. It’s sporty without being terribly competitive and allows them to cultivate a sort of studied grace typically afforded by years of ballet training or other hardcore activity.
Enhance Creativity
As many experts will tell you, there is little more beautiful in this world than taking a paddleboard and being able to paddle softly on a calm body of water. It is very zen and is the kind of hobby that can encourage creativity by virtue of allowing them space from the pressures of daily life. Just as it can do for adults, it allows them to clear their minds, and just be in the present, which can often be hard to do these days. Also, it is an excellent way to destress as the water can be a positive, calming force, and allows your kids to become more centered and focused on their bodies, much in the same way yoga does.
Easy Tools
It can be fairly easy to get into paddleboarding since it doesn’t require a particularly fancy setup. You just need to find a decent board and paddle, and you can take it from there. If you do a bit of research online, you’ll certainly find a great resource to help you decide on which paddleboard would suit you best. Since there are many types available on the market these days, it’s important that you understand how to differentiate the features to pick the right one for you. However, you should be careful and choose the best paddle appropriate for your kids’ skill level and body type, since the height can make a huge difference. You should also decide whether an inflatable or solid board works best for your trips out on the lake, and ensure that the model that falls under your budget fits the criteria you have in mind.
Enjoy the Outdoors
Given how most everyone has been locked up and bored at home these days due to the pandemic, families are looking for fun, easy, and outdoorsy activities that they can do as a family, which are also safe. On a paddleboard, there is by definition enough social distancing involved, so you can take your kids out on a fun adventure that is good for their health in more ways than one. And you can take them to the most beautiful places out there, whether it’s a lake, the ocean, and closest beach, or a river. Each landscape will be unique and something you can all enjoy as a family.
Learn New Skills
Not to put too fine a point on it, but there are many skills your kids can learn from paddleboarding. These cover but are not limited to things such as how to properly prepare for an outdoor day trip, and how to stay safe in the water as they get a hang of balancing themselves properly.
The cultivation of these new skills also assists in kids’ growing confidence and belief in themselves, which is crucial at such a young age. They will find themselves more comfortable in a different context, and that is a valuable learning experience that can be beneficial to people of all ages.
There are a lot of paddleboard enthusiasts out there, and with good reason. It’s a fun and relatively affordable hobby to take up. Kids will enjoy quality time with their siblings and parents and will grow more confident via the new skills they are taking up quickly. So, if you’re looking for a hobby that will tear kids away from computers or watching television all day, paddleboarding is definitely the way to go.
